Totem poles, Stanley Park, Vancouver
The totem pole display area at Brockton Point is the most visited tourist attraction in all of British Columbia and it has an interesting history. In the early 1920s, the elected Park Commissioners of the day supported the idea of constructing an Indian Village in Stanley Park near the Lumbermen's Arch area. This site was chosen as it had been the location of a massive midden, or cultural mound, resulting from years of habitation by the native aboriginal peoples. The midden primarily contained calcined shells that covered an area 8 feet deep over several acres. These shells were so numerous that they were used to surface Stanley Park's first perimeter road. The initial four poles, all from the Alert Bay region on Vancouver Island, were purchased by the Park Board in conjunction with the Art, Historical and Scientific Society (precursor to the Vancouver Museum). Totem pole numbers increased as the City prepared for its Golden Jubilee Celebration in 1936 with additional pieces being purchased from the Queen Charlotte Islands and Rivers Inlet on the central coast of British Columbia. The totem pole exhibit, which never achieved its full village vision, remained at the Lumbermen's Arch location until the early 1960s. When the underpass to the Lumbermen's Arch 'draw and fill' outdoor pool was constructed, the poles were moved to their present location, just east of Brockton Oval, which was considered to offer a more appropriate backdrop with better public access. Several of the original poles had been carved as early as the late 1880s but time plus the elements took their toll over the ensuing decades. The Skedans Mortuary Pole was replaced in 1962 by a replica with all remaining totems being sent to various museums for future preservation and new ones commissioned or loaned to the Park Board between 1986 and 1992.
Size: 3667px × 5500px
Location: Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Photo credit: © Linda Richards / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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